Slots parlor a long shot in Tewksbury

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
07/27/2013 06:35:56 AM EDT

Despite the fact that the Tewksbury Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to support a plan to bring a $200 million dollar slots parlor to Greater Lowell, the project is up against great odds to get to the finish line by mid-October.

The sponsor, Penn National Gaming Inc., however appears to be quite confident they have a great product and wonderful relationships in the communities it currently serves with 28 other locations across the country.

In its meeting with The Sun's editorial board and in presentations in Tewksbury, the company willingly offers references in every community where it does business, which would indicate it has been a pretty good neighbor.

I'm not a gambler. I think I've been to Foxwoods twice in my life, and after an hour, I'm ready to leave.

But, obviously, a lot of people enjoy it.

Lots of Massachusetts folks are helping the economies of Rhode Island and Connecticut.

I'm told the parking lots of the gaming sites in those states are dominated by cars from Massachusetts.

If Massachusetts is going to have one slots parlor, this doesn't look like a bad one.

Following are some of the comments from community leaders in other Penn National Casino sites, based on printed material the casino operators supplied to The Sun.

In Bangor, Maine, the nearest Hollywood casino (the name Penn National uses for its casino operations), folks basically said the company kept its promise in terms of the number of jobs that would be created.

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Even stronger comments come from people in locations where they have a longer relationship.

The mayor of Biloxi, Miss., for example said the company has supported local efforts to attract positive growth for the community and worked on quality-of -life issues for all residents.

Others called them "good neighbors."

The mayor of Rossford, Ohio, said, "Speaking from a community that didn't know what to expect of a casino, never mind the operator of that casino, we had a lot of questions and concerns. But the relationships we've developed, both with the local management of the Hollywood Casino here as well as with the people at the corporate office, allow me to state that we couldn't be happier to have them as a neighbor."

Pretty strong words from town leaders about a controversial industry.

Before we get to the point of Tewksbury counting the $3 million in revenue or people from the Merrimack Valley starting to line up for the hundreds of jobs being proposed, Penn National faces a daunting task of getting to the finish line over the next 100 days.

First, it needs to win a Town Meeting vote, scheduled for Aug. 20, to change the zoning at the Ames Pond site.

Second, if it's approved there, it then needs to win a townwide election, scheduled for Sept. 21.

Third, the company needs to be approved as the only site in the state for a license to operate, sometime in October.

So if you are for the project, you have a lot of work to do. If you are against it, you have lots of chances to kill it.

But this will be a major issue in the community for the next 100 days.

I still haven't quite gotten over the emotional roller-coaster ride of the Market Basket controversy.

Never, in all my years in the news business, have I witnessed an issue that united the people of the Merrimack Valley in support of the head of a major business.

About 50,000 people signed petitions on Facebook in support of keeping Arthur T. Demoulas in charge of the region's number-one supermarket chain.

Employees played a big role in fighting for their boss, but I was equally impressed with community leaders and customers who rallied to the cause.

A good example was Terry O'Connor.

She is quite a lady, not one you would expect to see on a picket line or demonstration, but there she was with hundreds of others at the Clark Road Market Basket standing in support of Arthur T.

When asked why, "How could I not?" was her answer. "The man has been so generous to every community cause I care about."

She has been a strong advocate for the Whistler House, and Demoulas has been a strong supporter in preserving the historic site in the Acre.

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